Unexpected
by EmmylouFreebush
Summary: The Potter siblings run into Scorpius while on a summer outing, which leads to a surprising revelation.


James Potter could not have predicted what happened when he decided to take his younger siblings for ice-cream.

All he wanted was a nice trip to London on a summer's afternoon with Al and Lil, an opportunity to spend time with them before returning to his work as an apprentice Curse-Breaker and before they were due to return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had been in Central America for the last year, recovering valuable magical artefacts from the remains of the Aztec civilisation. He knew his mother had been glad of him coming home for the summer; she was always worrying about him despite him writing every week to let her know he was alright. His father always seemed less concerned on the surface, but was always warning James in their correspondence to be careful and not to take any rash actions. This coming from the man who had defeated the darkest wizard of all time not even a year into his adulthood, and had been involved in many dangerous encounters prior to that. _Yep, dad_, James would always say to himself. _Whatever you say._

James ordered the ice-creams; butterscotch for himself, mint chocolate-chip for Albus and cookies-n-cream for Lily. As he sat down with his siblings, he noticed a slightly pink flush to Lily's cheeks as she pulled the hood of her jacket over her copper-red hair. At fifteen years of age, Lily had grown into quite an attractive young woman, having inherited more from their mother Ginny than either of her brothers. Albus, just shy of seventeen, was the image of their father, Harry, with his dark hair and green eyes. It was truly remarkable how much both of them had grown up in the last year alone. It seemed there was much James had missed while he was exploring the Americas.

Curious about his sister's erratic behaviour, James asked, "What is it, Lil?"

Al's green eyes had lit up like beacons. "Scorpius!" he yelled excitedly, waving his arm in the air. James followed his animated gaze to where Scorpius Malfoy, Al's closest friend, turned his head at the sound of his name. Far from the child James remembered, Scorpius was tall, blonde and lovely. He waved back to Albus before making a start towards them, much to Lily's chagrin. In his periphery, James could see that Lily's face had turned completely scarlet.

"Scorpius Malfoy, huh?" James murmured, a roguish smile creeping onto his face.

"Shut up, James," Lily growled venomously. "There's nothing there. Scorpius likes Rose."

It was true that Scorpius had once asked out the Potters' cousin, Rose Granger-Weasley. It was also true, though, that Rose had turned him down, saying she did not return his feelings. That was three years ago. It stood to reason that Scorpius may have moved on, especially considering Rose now had a boyfriend. James couldn't help but wonder, though, when it was that Lily had developed feelings for the Malfoy kid.

"I really have missed a lot," he murmured wistfully.

James turned to Scorpius Malfoy as he approached the table. He could feel both his siblings' hopeful eyes on him, begging him to side with them on the matter of inviting the newcomer to join them.

James sighed as he turned to Scorpius, greeting him with a gentle grin. "Would you like some ice-cream?" he asked.

James was intentionally ignoring his sister's sharp glare as he set a cup of strawberry ice-cream in front of Scorpius Malfoy. He was fully aware she was salty about him siding with Albus, but he seemed not to care. In that moment, Lily hated her brothers. If she had her wand, she would've jinxed them both.

"So," James addressed Scorpius cheerfully. "Al mentioned you're to be Head Boy. Congratulations." It was one of the first things Albus had reported when James had asked about Hogwarts. He had been understandably chuffed on his best friend's behalf.

"Thanks," Scorpius said, grinning broadly. "Oh yeah, Lily, I heard you were made Gryffindor Prefect. Congratulations. Well deserved, naturally."

Lily looked at Scorpius for the first time since he sat down. His grey eyes were kind; they warmed her heart. "Thanks, Scorpius," she said with a smile. "Congratulations on Head Boy. You deserve it, too."

"She's right," Al added cheerily. "Oh, James, before I forget, there's something here I want to show you."

"Now?" James shot his brother a questioning look, but seeing the look on Al's face, he nodded resignedly. Lily started to protest, but James mussed her hair affectionately beneath her hood, causing it to fall off. "Can I trust you to mind the table?" he asked.

It was clearly a plot orchestrated by her brothers to get her and Scorpius talking. Her eyes pleaded with James, but he merely shrugged as Albus began to lead him away.

Scorpius was the first to fill the silence that followed. "What's your ice-cream like?" he asked.

Lily smiled, nodding her approval. "It's good," she said. Without thinking, she added, "Wanna try some?"

To her surprise, Scorpius' pale cheeks flushed a gentle pink. "Sure," he said. When she offered the scoop to him, though, she missed his mouth, painting a smear of cookies-n-cream on his chin. They both giggled as he recoiled, wiping the cold liquid away. The second time he took the spoon from her hand, brushing her fingers lightly as he did so.

"Mmm," he said. "That _is_ good." He then dipped the spoon into his strawberry ice-cream. "Try this," he said, holding it in front of her. She took the spoon in her mouth and the sweet flavour of strawberry danced on her tastebuds.

"That's lovely," she said.

"Yes," Scorpius responded, his eyes meeting hers, holding her gaze. "You are."

Registering what he said, Lily felt her heart skip a beat. "I…" She had no idea how to respond to that. "You really think so?"

"I do," he said. There was no humour in his voice or his expression. He was completely serious. "You don't believe me?"

"I…" Lily remained lost for words. "I thought…"

"You thought I neglected to notice how beautiful you've become," Scorpius finished. "I suppose that's understandable. I'd wager you've barely noticed the way others look at you, too."

"I…" Al was always telling her when people were making eyes at her. There was never any mention of Scorpius, though she could put that down to a secret between friends. But then, "I thought you liked Rose."

"Once," Scorpius acknowledged. "But I've moved on…" After a moment, his eyes flashed with understanding. "Wait… y-you…" Now it was _his_ turn to be speechless.

"I really like you, Scorpius," Lily blurted out.

"You… that's why you've been avoiding me!"

"I was embarrassed. I thought you still liked Rose."

"I thought you hated me," Scorpius' expression was one of sheer relief.

Lily whispered, "I'm sorry."

Scorpius took her hand in his. "Don't be," he said gently. "Just know I really like you too, Lily."

Tears came to Lily's eyes. Happy tears. "Do you think we could… go somewhere? Just the two of us?"

Scorpius lifted her hand, kissing it tenderly. "I'd like that very much."


End file.
